Frostbite❄ [h.s short story]

1.

"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Jack Frost nipping at your nose
Yule-tide carols being sung by a choir
And folks dressed up like Eskimos."

Winter had finally arrived.

Well, at least weather-wise. There was still a few days left until the calendar marks the 21st of December, the first day of winter. The temperature was near zero and a bone-chilling wind was howling outside. In a small town in Canada, everyone was searching for a place to warm up, rubbing their palms together and clamping their red frozen noses as their breaths came out in the form of a white mist. Yes, the winter had arrived.

And she was waiting.

Ivy's palms cupped her warm mug filled with tea as steam billowed from it, sitting in a small coffee shop, situated next to the window decorated with fairy lights. Her eyes were trained on the sky, teeth biting her lower lip in anticipation. Her knee was shaking up and down nervously, neck craning so she could get a better visual of the darkening sky.

"Ivy, it's nearing closing time," Jasper, the coffee shop owner, said to her. "Ivy?" He repeated when she seemingly didn't hear him. "Yo, I have a bunch of free coupons for you, look."

Still nothing. Rolling his eyes, he lightly tapped her shoulder. "Girl, you alive or what?"

Ivy snapped from her thoughts, shifting her startled eyes at her close friend. "Sorry, Jaz. What is it?"

Jaz smiled and slid into the seat opposite of hers. "What is it with you and waiting for snow every single day around this time? Does it really matter when is it going to fall? It snows every year here anyway, and every year I break a bone or sprain something. Fucking ice." He shook his head.

"And every year, I am there to witness it, having a Christmas card for the next year. This year is the picture of your head stuck in a pile of snow with your ass in the air when you fell from the sleigh last December." She grinned cheekily.

Jaz groaned in annoyance, throwing his head back. "I hate you."

"Don't be offended, it's a fine ass."

"My fiancée certainly agrees." He smirked. "While we're at it, Neve and I are expecting you on this year's Christmas dinner. Unless your folks are celebrating with you this year."

Ivy's grin dimmed slightly. "No, my parents are going on their traditional winter vacation to some super sunny location, probably somewhere in Florida or Australia. They invited me this year too, but I went all Home Alone on them and refused."

Jaz puffed out a laugh. "Since you're single as fuck and I know you have no better things to do when you come home from work, you are always welcome to stop by and help me decorate. Neve has crazy ideas, so my annual winter sprain or bone break might come sooner this year."

Ivy pulled out her phone and began to type something, Jaz's brows frowning in confusion. "What are you doing?"

Ivy gave him a sly smile. "Texting your fiancée. If it does happen, I need her to take a picture so I'm telling her to be prepared."

"Hell is filled with people like you."

"And I'm sure there's a special place for me in there." She flipped her curly hair dramatically.

Jaz looked at her blankly. "I really have to close up, so drink your tea and get your ass moving. By the way, if you don't know what to get me this year, remember, I like money. Especially the one with lots of zeros on it."

"So do I yet you give me mittens every year," Ivy retorted with a smile as she took the last few gulps of her tea, placing the mug back on the table.

"But they always have cute patterns! Besides, you always give me condoms," Jaz remarked, watching as she put her coat on and wrapped a scarf around her neck. Granted, she gave him a thoughtful gift every year, but a pack of condoms was always wrapped up as well.

"That's because the world is not ready for you to reproduce, Jaz," she jested as she walked out of the shop.

❄❄❄

It was nearing eleven at night yet the fairy lights every single house in Ivy's neighbourhood had almost created an illusion it wasn't night. The sight was magical, the lights twinkling in various colours, cheerful Christmas decorations situated on almost every porch. Yet Ivy paid little attention to it all. She was still waiting for snow.

Sitting on the windowsill with a fluffy blanket wrapped around her, she was gazing outside, looking at the night sky. A small sigh fell from her lips as her arms circled around her knees, head leaning against the glass. It fogged as she breathed out, her fingertip raising to create a pattern on the glass. A lot of memories suddenly flashed before her eyes, of the winter happiness she was waiting for this year as well.

You'd think she would've drawn a smiley face or a snowflake yet she had chosen an erotic pattern - male genitalia. She snorted when she was done, admiring her work.

"And here's a thing I certainly won't get for Christmas," she mumbled. "Unless Theo James comes knocking on my door."

While she was busy mentally listing the names of famous people she would like to be locked with for a few minutes, thick clouds appeared in the sky and everything seemed to quiet down. Even the wind that had been blowing all day.

And then she saw it.

First, only a few snowflakes fell from the sky and twirled in the air delicately until many more followed, creating a white curtain. Ivy's eyes widened in excitement and her heart started to beat faster as she leapt from the windowsill. Instead of a graceful landing, her limbs got tangled in the blanket and her body fell on the floor with a thud. 

"Let go of me, you beast!" She groaned as she disentangled from the fluffy prison, managing to stand on her feet and run towards the door. She grabbed her scarf hanging aside and placed it around her neck, taking a deep breath.

The moment she opened the door, a cold breeze swooshed past her and into the house, but she barely noticed. Her eyes were solely focused on the snowflakes, palms raising in the air as they touched her warm skin and melted a second later. Her lips were spread into a wide grin and she sustained from jumping up and down like a child. She let out a stifled "yay" under her breath, feeling giddy.

Ivy looked around as if looking for someone, carefully trailing her gaze over her surroundings. Hope blossomed in her chest just like it did every single year when snow fell. She was patiently waiting, silently praying that this year her wish comes true. She stood on the spot for minutes, her creamy sweater doing a poor job at keeping the cold away as it nipped at her skin, goosebumps scattering over its surface. She crossed her arms over her chest to provide herself with some warmth.

"Please, come on," she whispered, shifting from leg to leg as if she had to pee. "Come on, come on, come on..."

She was losing hope with each passing minute and she was unsure whether her eyes were getting teary because of the cold or because she was sad that this year wasn't going to be any different it seemed. "What do you know, another disappointment in my life. Fuck."

She turned around, ready to head back to her house and give up. But she felt a prickling sensation on the tip of her numbing nose, making her halt in place. She closed her eyes to collect herself because she felt as if she might burst from happiness as she heard a quick swoosh of a chilly breeze beside her. Her lips tugged in a grin and she slowly turned back around, her scarf slipping from around her neck, getting carried away.

"Hello, Jack."

❄❄❄

a/n: Hiiii, so I wanted to write a Christmas story this year and I'm planning to post one chapter each day as a countdown till Christmas. They're not prewritten so it's going to be challenging af, possibly with grammar mistakes and not very long, but it's a short story after all.

So 10 chapters in 10 days, wish me luck. If I was as half dedicated to my college as I am to wattpad, I'd pass every exam lol.

I hope you enjoy reading it! :)